Books 5 and 6 Plato's Republic

 Books 5 and 6 concentrated on the Just City (Kallipolis). Professor Foster makes it a point to INTERPRET the text rather than to passively accept the text. Books 5 and 6 are arguably the two chapters that readers must differentiate between Plato and Socrates and rigorously interpret the words rather than passively accept Bloom's translation.

Socrates or Plato, perhaps even Bloom, construct Kallitopolis through intense storytelling. Not only are we treated towards "waves" (communism of women and children, eugenics, and the like) we also have rapid and compelling rhetoric. Unlike other books, Socrates takes center stage. Instead of playing the fool to reveal foolishness, he is now in full command of his powers. In my opinion, Plato is baring his soul and giving us his personal reasons as to why his life must not be repeated and why Athenian democracy and Athenian excess has led to where the Greek Peninsula is the state it is in now. Reading this in 2020, it's not hard to feel sympathetic. 

This was perhaps the most difficult week because the videos and the book were both times consuming and hard to digest. Kallipolis weren't classic utopianism, but foundational desires towards the directed rule of some people. 

Comments

  1. Professor RogerSeptember 20, 2020 at 5:34 PM

    It's the controversial ideas in chapter 5 that are a big part of the work of interpretation here, and I agree this involves thinking about the relationship between Plato, the author, and Socrates, the character in the book

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